Doing housework, moving boxes, tightening screws, guiding tours and sales… Recently, Hefei’s Embodied Intelligent Robot Data Collection and Pre-Training Ground officially began operations. What does this so-called “Robot School” in Hefei look like? How do robots learn and train? And how do they “find jobs” after “graduation”? Our reporter visited the site to find out.

What the Robot “School” Looks Like

On June 26, the reporter visited the Embodied Intelligent Robot Data Collection and Pre-Training Ground located in Yaohai District, Hefei. In this so-called “Robot School,” robots from five companies were “attending classes,” while staff collected data on the robots’ training and production scenarios.

“At present, the training ground covers a total of 700 square meters of full-scale, 1:1 realistic training scenarios. Robots can conduct data collection and training validation in over 10 real-world scenarios here, covering fields such as industrial manufacturing, commercial services, and home services,” explained a representative from the International Advanced Technology Application Promotion Center (Hefei). The training ground was co-built by International Advanced Technology Application Promotion Center (Hefei) and Yaohai District and is a core part of Hefei’s four major intelligent robot public service platforms. According to plans, by the end of 2025, the area of Hefei’s Embodied Intelligent Robot Data Collection and Pre-Training Ground will expand to 5,000 square meters.

To train robots to become “all-rounders,” the training ground features industrial scenes that replicate real environments such as warehouse handling and production line sorting on a 1:1 scale. In the “production line classroom” of the industrial area, robots can simulate the entire process of warehouse handling and parts sorting, completing orders through multi-robot collaboration. In the “simulated mall” commercial service scene, robots can “learn” commercial guidance and retail sorting. In the “smart kitchen” home scene, robots can “train” to open dishwashers and coordinate smart home appliances…

“Our core goal is to bring robots back from ‘showy performances’ to real production environments,” said the International Advanced Technology Application Promotion Center (Hefei) representative. The training ground aims to conduct systematic training over 3 to 6 months, combining generalized data collection with large model optimization, striving to improve robot productivity from “20 robots equaling 1 human” to “2 to 3 robots equaling 1 human,” truly realizing deep application in industrial manufacturing and life service scenarios.

How Robots “Find Jobs”

The reporter learned that the training ground will serve as a bridge linking technology supply with market demand. Currently, policies at both the city and district levels in Hefei form a “combined punch.” Yaohai District provides nearby office and R&D space, while Hefei city, together with state-owned capital platforms, has set up special funds to invest in early-stage projects. Hefei will also issue platform usage vouchers, allowing companies to access computing power, scenarios, and desensitized data at low cost, greatly lowering the threshold for “robot brain development.”

According to the plan, by the end of 2025, Hefei’s Embodied Intelligent Robot Data Collection and Pre-Training Ground will widely recruit over 20 intelligent robot hardware companies nationwide, enabling more than 100 robots to simultaneously carry out data collection and collaborative operations in over 30 specialized scenarios. Through a four-dimensional linkage model of “scenarios-data-algorithms-ecosystem,” it will build a nationally leading hub for robot technology R&D and application, allowing these “graduated” robots to showcase their skills in a broader industrial market.

Source: Xin'an Evening News